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Raising kids who EmbraceRace: Online Conversation, June 27

RAISING KIDS WHO EMBRACE RACE
Why we must, where we begin.
The founders of EmbraceRace will frame and facilitate this online discussion.

REGISTER HERE to join this FREE, online, community conversation on TUESDAY, June 27th at 5:30 pm PT/ 8:30 pm ET.

Why We Gather. EmbraceRace is about building a strong and nourishing community of practice for parents, guardians, teachers and other caregivers who want to help raise a generation of children who are thoughtful, informed, and brave about race. In this session we — Andrew (Grant-Thomas) and Melissa (Giraud) — will talk about the Big Picture of race in the United States that led us to launch the community. We’ll highlight the goals derived from that Big Picture and describe some of the work, both current and upcoming, we hope will help us all move toward those goals. We see EmbraceRaceboth as a provider of information and support in the race-and-raising-kids space and as part of a larger movement for racial and social justice. We think there’s a lot at stake in whether, how, and how well we collectively do this work. Let’s talk about it!

We invite anyone raising and mentoring kids to join us for this conversation. Register now to attend online on June 27th at 8:30 pm ET. Registering also ensures that you will receive the after-event recording and resources whether you attend live or not.

8:30 to 9:10 pm ET: Andrew Grant-Thomas and Melissa Giraud share the racial “big picture” that motivated them to form EmbraceRace and outline the shape that’s taken so far.

9:10 to 9:30 pm ET: Their presentation will be followed by time for feedback and questions; please participate.

Melissa Giraud and Andrew Grant-Thomas are life partners, partners in EmbraceRace, and co-parents to two girls, ages 6 and 9.

Melissa is the first-generation American, biracial (black/white) daughter of a French Canadian mother and Dominican father, (the island of Dominica, not the Dominican Republic). She’s often seen as white but just as often gets the “what are you?” question or look. Professionally, Melissa has been most interested in supporting learning and life outcomes for underserved students and families, especially immigrant girls and girls of color. Those driving concerns have shaped her work as an educator, NPR producer, education technology strategist, foundation consultant, and now as a co-founder of EmbraceRace.

Andrew is a long-time racial justice guy, a black man of Jamaican origins in the United States, born on the 4th of July. He’s grateful to have been able to do work meaningful to him alongside people whose examples inspire him. He understands that, in myriad and sometimes unwitting ways, the most fortunate people in the US have built their good fortune largely on the backs of the least fortunate, just as the United States has built its cultural, economic and military preeminence largely on the backs of people outside our borders. He believes race has played a prominent role in both cases.